Let’s Move Half Marathon Training Starts Now!

So you have committed to train for the Let’s Move Festival of Races half marathon. If you have never done this event you are in for a treat.

This is one of my favorite races for many reasons. This race is close to home. It’s easy to pick up my packet on Friday night and then go have a carb loading dinner with other runners and friends who are also in the event.

Saturday morning I head downtown get a parking spot not too far from the start and then I am off to see lots of familiar faces and lots of Team THS shirts.

This half marathon is pretty flat, there is a hill at the end that I promise is not as big as it feels. There are parts of the course that you can see who is in front of you and who is behind you. If you are very competitive you will love this, if you not as competitive it is a great chance to see familiar faces and cheer them on.

Training for the half should start for most runners in Feb. I have provided a (Please click on link) training plan on the web site and available from me if you email me. The program is for intermediate runners and includes 4 days of running.

Below are a few terms defined that will help you make the most sense out of the training calendar.

Training Program Words Defined

EZ -Easy, run these miles at a comfortable, easy, enjoyable pace.

Tempo- faster than your goal pace for the race.

x400- warm up for half a mile, then run pick up the pace for 1 lap of the track (or about .25 miles) The pace should be consistent and be the fastest you can go and maintain for 1 lap of the track. (It will take practice to figure it out) Recover by walking or jogging for the same distance and then repeat. Repeat the hard interval part for as many times as indicated on calendar. For example if it is says 4×400. After your warm up you would run hard for 1 lap, recover for 1 lap. That counts as 1, you would do that 4 times.

x800 – aka Yasso intervals. Warm up for a half mile, then run a half mile (or two laps at a track) hard, out of comfort zone. Try to maintain an even pace during the the work interval. The more you practice the better you will get. After the half mile of work, recover for half a mile. If you feel you need to walk to recover that is ok, as soon as your feel ready start to jog. Complete a full half mile or two lap before beginning the next work interval.

If the calendar calls for 4×800, that means you do 4 work intervals.

x1 mile- run consistent but quicker pace for 1 mile, recover as long as needed by walking and then repeat. Works best if done on track.

LSD – long slow distance. This is where you become an endurance athlete by teaching your body to utilize fat as fuel source. Run the LSD run, slower than any other run you do, slower than your goal pace for the half marathon. It will be mentally challenging. It will save you from injury and will help your body become more efficient at utilizing fat as a fuel source. As an endurance athlete you want to be using fat as a fuel source not all carbs.

The Sunday EZ run can be done on Monday if you want a recovery day after your long run on Saturday.

If you elect to do your long run on Sunday, you can do the EZ run on Saturday or on Monday. But don’t just skip it.